Metro

Niger government denies claims by opposition it massacre hundreds of civilians

Published

1 year ago

October 30, 2022

The Nigerien government has debunked allegations by opposition political figures and prominent civil society organisation, Turning the Page (TLP), which claimed on Saturday that hundreds of civilians were massacred at an unofficial gold mine where the authorities said killers of two police officers had fled to.

The accusations had pointed at the country’s military as being behind the mass killing of civilians at the mine after two security agents were killed during the week.

The TLP had denounced the “massacre of dozens of gold miners” by army helicopters, and also called for an independent investigation, while the opposition said in a statement sent to parliament that “it is urgent and imperative that all the light be shed through an independent investigation”.

“The testimonies gathered raise more concerns and questions about the veracity of the information communicated by the Minister of Defence,” the TLP said.

But the West African country’s Defence Ministry admitted that though the army carried out aerial strikes on October 24 after two policemen were killed in a “terrorist” attack targeting Tamou police station in Tillaberi region, bordering Burkina Faso, its personnel had nothing to do with the killing.

“People say the site has been bombed from everywhere and that bodies in very advanced state of decomposition litter the wells and surroundings”, Niger’s Interior Minister Hamadou Adamou Souley, who visited the site on Saturday, said at a press conference.

“This is not the case… figures of 150 to 1 000 deaths have even been reported but it is not true

“The bombing had only hit hangars where the attackers had taken refuge… at the time of the strikes,” Souley said.

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Metro

All my tough policy decisions are in Nigerians’ interest— Tinubu

Published

4 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria has insisted that all his tough policy decisions and reforms have been taken with the interest of Nigerians at heart.

Tinubu, who made the assertion in Hague, The Netherlands, during the business session of the bilateral meeting with the Dutch team led by Prime Minister Mark Rutte, insisted that though some of the policies had brought hardship on Nigerian masses, he was not afraid to implement more of such policies as they would yield positive results in the end.

“I am a determined leader of my people. I am ever ready to take tough decisions in the best interest of the people, even if with initial pains,” Tinubu said.

“I have and will continue to take the difficult decisions that will benefit our people, even if there is short-term pain.

“We have gone through the worst of the storms. I am unafraid of the consequences once I know that my actions are in the best long-term interests of all Nigerians.

“The Nigerian naira is one of the world’s best-performing currencies today.

“We took the necessary risk, and all resilient Nigerians kept faith with us.

“They will be rewarded, and the reward will only be greater as we partner effectively with you on new opportunities for development.

“As leaders, we must make decisions for the benefit of our nations, and we cannot shy away from that.”

The President also noted that symbiotic economic ties remain the best long-term path to sustainable and mutual prosperity rather than one-sided relationships in which bilateral trade is skewed too much in one direction.

Metro

Nigeria govt cancels 924 dormant mining licences

Published

6 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s minister of mines said on Wednesday that 924 expired mining licences had been cancelled immediately.

The country now wants investors to apply for the affected permits, which will be given out on a “first come, first served” basis.

In a statement, Mines Minister Dele Alake said that 528 exploration licenses, 20 mining leases, 101 quarry licenses, and 273 small-scale mining licenses would be impacted.

As part of major changes in the mining industry, more than 1,600 mining titles were taken away in November for not paying the required fees.

Alake said that the action was taken to stop “licence racketeering,” which is when people or businesses buy titles to minerals that are worth a lot of money and then sell the licenses to the highest price.

“By creating a secondary, black market to pawn mineral licences, the unsuspecting and unwary investor is misled into believing that he can only obtain licence by patronising the black market. This discourages investment,” Alake said.

“It is our belief that this decision will sanitise the licensing system by penalising those who have commercialized the opportunities offered by the sector into a bazaar, he added.

Nigeria wants to attract investors to a mining industry that hasn’t been developed much in the past. To do this, they are giving incentives like not having to pay taxes on profits and sending them back to Nigeria in full.

Nigeria has had trouble getting value from its huge mineral riches because it didn’t invest in or take care of them.

After making it harder for foreign companies to get mining licenses last year, Africa’s biggest oil provider will only give them to companies that process their minerals in the country itself. The country is also rich in lithium, gold, and limestone.